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Committee hears bill to make Category D group homes workable; advocates say rate-setting and technical help are needed
Summary
Senate Bill 524 would set rates and technical-support obligations to allow small, community-based Category D group homes to operate as less-restrictive alternatives to the state hospital; disability-rights and long-term-care advocates urged passage and realistic rates.
Lawmakers heard testimony on Senate Bill 524, a proposal to make Category D group homes operational by requiring the department to set provider rates and by removing regulatory barriers that have blocked facility openings since the 2017 statute.
David Carlson of Disability Rights Montana told the committee that "not a single Category D facility has ever opened up" because rates and licensing requirements were not practical for likely providers. Rose Hughes of the Montana Health Care Association said the original rules treated Category D like a psychiatric hospital and that clarifying licensure and payment would allow assisted-living and nursing providers to add small Category D units.
Sponsor testimony framed the bill as a chance to divert appropriate patients from the state hospital to closer-to-home, less-restrictive settings. The conversation with committee members focused on how Category D differs from memory-care units, the appropriate per-day rate to make facilities viable, and safeguards to ensure patient and staff safety.
The sponsor closed by noting the fiscal note and provider-rate discussions would continue with Finance and Claims and that Category D rates should be roughly comparable to nursing-home costs to create an incentive for providers to open and operate them.
